Sask. Party cuts making overcapacity worse at Saskatoon hospitals

January 23, 2017

With no support from the Sask. Party, overcapacity continues to be an issue for patients and frontline health care workers in the Saskatoon area.

As of Monday morning, the Saskatoon Health Region was reporting a total of 109 overcapacity beds. The Sask. Party promised to address this serious issue but they have failed and, instead of getting better, the truth is, overcapacity numbers have actually been on the rise.

“The Sask. Party failure to address overcapacity in our hospitals means that frontline health care workers are being pushed passed their limits and they’re unable to give patients the care and attention they deserve,” said NDP Health Critic Danielle Chartier.

Chartier noted that the Sask. Party’s decision to waste millions on an American consultant’s Lean scheme has done nothing to improve Saskatchewan’s hospitals.

“The Sask. Party has mismanaged this problem from the beginning and they spent millions of dollars just to see the situation get worse,” said Chartier. “When you have patients lining hallways and staff who are overworked to the point of being unable to do their jobs as well as they’d like, how can the Sask. Party possibly justify more cuts and layoffs?”